Hi all, we have a small group of friend play live poker together. At first, it's really fun and everybody join. But after several months. Skill gap happens and losers don't want to play anymore. Now sometime we can't play because don't have enough players.

My question is how to reduce the skill gap to maintain the group? for example in running contest. Quicker can start behind to keep the game competitive and fun. How can we do the same with home game poker? thank you all.

Poker is a mix of skill and luck. You'll need to up the luck factor to keep the weak players in to give them a chance to come out a winner for the night. High hands, payoffs for suits, etc. can do this.

I moved this thread to the home poker forum, where I think you'll get more focused answers. Venice's suggestion is good. Another is to play a variety of games. No-limit Holdem is a tough game for the less skilled to do well in, and is also the one better players are more likely to be experts in. Try mixing in lesser known games, especially ones with wild cards or other luck based rules (for example, Rain Baseball).

Limit/Split pot games will allow the losers in the game to lose more slowly and actually feel like they get to play. And if its a game that know one really knows how to play then the playing field will be more even.



No limit holdem is a really bad game for this type of line up since depending on the skill edge, the losing players may almost never win. And its pretty easy for someone to do a little bit of study and completely crush a table full of noobs.

Another option but probably less popular is play smaller stakes so losers don’t feel it as hard.

I encourage you to think of poker as a trade: the losing players pay money and receive entertainment. In return, the winning players receive money and they need to give entertainment.

The winning players need to manage this and to make the experience fun for the losing players. Depending on the money at stake, the winning players could be expected to chip in for pizza, or booze, or maybe they just need to lighten up and be more fun.

The weaker players in my game love bomb pots.

A home game I play in on occasion has decided to break the group into two. A sharks group and a minnows group. Over a a certain time (6 months?) if a player wins a certain amount, they are placed in the sharks group. They hold sharks games half of the time and minnows games half. The minnows are allowed to play on shark nights, but not vice versa.

just dont play purely holdem, play omaha, play 5card omaha, play irish poker, play pineapple, play crazy pineapple, add antes, add another blind 3blinds, play short deck, some hi-lo type games (hate them ha lol more split pots) but just mix it up.

do dealers choice or every rotation past the dealer game changes or something, or even deal every other opponent 2cards and next 3 and alternate each deal and the people with 3 have to ditch one of their cards on the flop or something, make up some poker games.

id say play anything other than holdem actually and it should be fine, holdem fullrings pretty boring too anyways for what its worth least online.

hope helped but yh change the game (people will be hesitant actually to play other poker games i dont get why but there usually more fun alot of them have more sweat or gamble in them some of them as your be all in on the turn or flop more often like in omaha and more multiway stuff) make it more interesting.

holdem can feel a bit like your not gambling at all your either making mistakes or your not and normally less all in pre or on a flop turn which dont even have as often you lose the sweat gamble factor and even then it dont really feel like gambling anymore if that makes sense mean when bluffing theres a sweat sort of but you get what i mean i think.

dont play holdem or if do maybe make it pot limit pre or i dont know add another deck and make up a game add jokers in the game and make them relevant in someway.

make poker fun holdem when someones alot better than you can actually be stressful as **** even when there not and equal it still can so if your aware you suck you can just feel like your getting destroyed as well you are lol, no limit holdem is brutal in that way only have 2 cards lol lot of room and air in the game for goofy stuff.
id say if really want to keep losers in yh make the atmosphere better either by changing the game to something little more gambly in nature social rather than all out war (games with multiple cards cause more info etc and also games that arent no limit in betting structure so people cant be pushed around as much overbet and being able to ship whole stack in the middle a real big weapon, but if want to keep or make the atmosphere more chill scrap no limit holdem its too war battle like, lot of the other games arent quite like that more multiway pots more cards so more info and if mess around with limit betting changes it too).

thats just my thoughts on it.

like id no way in hell say play headsup poker vs someone that was definitely better than me and i knew it (least anymore lol in past that werent true ha id just try crack them ha) but i will happily play anyone at omaha for a bit headsup as even if they have an edge how much edge can they realistically get on me in a pot limit game and game where i have more info at my disposal than merely two cards where there so much space pre and postflop.

yh thats my thoughts scrap no limit holdem (the losers may actually be anti this, put on a tournament so risk low for the new games so people can try the game out themselves)

Play turbo tournaments. Format is high variance, and there is a fixed amount a player can lose. Usually highly entertaining, as the format requires thin calls and bluffs.

This is the answer, will help for the skill difference

Lots of great suggestions here already.

Our group plays a lot of dealers choice and has kept the game going a long time as a result. If we just played NL hold'em the game probably would have broken long ago (boring and weaker players would get busted quickly and often).

Move to 5 card PLO

Or 6 card for that matter.